Reflections from the Bishop of Exeter

Memories infused with gratitude are the wonderful consolation of old age. As we grow older we find the prayer of reminiscence becoming increasingly important. We savour events that have shaped us for good and mourn the opportunities we missed. In our memories we meet ourselves: who we were and who we have become. But what … More God in fragments: how worship can unlock memory

Today the children from the churches of Brixham (All Saints, Brixham, St Mary’s, Brixham, the Community Church and Brixham Baptist Church), walked through the town to raise money for refugee families. I met them at noon as they finished and it was brilliant seeing hordes of children and young parents pouring into St Mary’s, all sporting … More Children united for refugees in Brixham

Sunday was a poignant day as I presided at the last Eucharist to be held in St Andrew’s Church, here in Exeter. The first church was a tin tabernacle, erected at the end of the nineteenth century to serve the expanding population on the other side of the River Exe, the area called St Thomas. … More To all that shall be – yes!

A programme I much enjoy on Radio 4 is The Listening Project. Thousands of conversations from across the length and breadth of the UK have been recorded and broadcast. They cover every topic under the sun from the sublime to the banal. Some exchanges are funny, others profoundly moving as we dip into other people’s lives. This week I’ve been engaged in a listening project of my own in Plymouth, hearing the concerns of local people, including some of the most socially excluded in our society … More THE GOD WHO LISTENS

12 November 2016 What a privilege to be invited to dedicate the new crematorium chapel in Barnstaple today. Named the ‘Rowan’ this chapel is modern, spacious and airy, not at all gloomy or gothic. It has been built and funded jointly by North Devon and Torridge District Councils, and is testimony to the strength of … More ASHES TO ASHES

Driving into the naval base at Devonport yesterday (November 9th) I found myself humming the First Sea Lord’s song from HMS Pinafore, ‘Now I’m the ruler of the Queen’s Navy’. Except the naval exercise that Bishop Nick and I had been invited to share in was no laughing matter. The exercise was part of a six … More THURSDAY WAR

Being woken up at 5.30am by the sound of a distant fire alarm on Friday morning as I tried to sleep off my jet lag was not what I expected when I returned from Kenya. Even worse was discovering the reason for the alarm: the Royal Clarence Hotel was on fire. This handsome building on … More Saying goodbye to the grand old lady of Exeter?

Today was our last full day in Kenya. Bishop Julius arranged for us to travel to Nairobi to meet the new Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya, the Most Reverend Jackson ole Sapit. It proved to be a special occasion. After talking with the whole group and hearing something of the tripartite link which … More Encouraging, challenging and exhausting; farewell to Kenya

‘You can’t teach a man with an empty stomach. First, you need to feed him,’ said Bishop Julius as our bus pulled into the parish of Gitwe. We had been travelling for about an hour through beautiful countryside to the south-west region of the diocese. The hills and woods are peppered with blue … More We are marching in the light of God

Today a group of us attended worship at St Luke’s, Makongeni here in Thika Town. Built in an area that thirty years ago was simply fields of sisal (makongeni) it is evidence of how the urban population in Kenya has mushroomed and how the church has responded. This thriving parish has grown both in numbers … More This is the day that the Lord has made